WHAT I SHARED WITH MY DAUGHTER ABOUT PHIL RIZZUTO

 "God bless this wonderful game they call baseball." 

-- Phil Rizzuto

Earlier last week I sat down with my six year old daughter to watch a Yankeeography on YES.  The episode we watched? A tribute to Phil Rizzuto.  At first, she wasn't that into it, it wasn't a cartoon and a lot of it was in black and white.  And then I mentioned that Phil Rizzuto was her great great uncle.  "See that man," I said, "that's grandpa's uncle.  Doesn't grandpa look a lot like him?"  From there, she was hooked.

Growing up, people always asked me what it was like to have an uncle in the family who played for the New York Yankees.  No doubt it was cool.  I got to hear stories, sometimes first hand, about the days of the October Twelve. My daughter, like me, loves stories.  She loves to listen to them and she loves to tell them.  And so, while many of the stories she was hearing during this episode were hard for her to understand, she asked me to tell her my favorite story about her great great uncle.

I smiled and said, the thing I remember most about Uncle Phil is that he never seemed like a celebrity.  He was a husband, a father, a brother, an uncle and a friend.  He just so happened to also be an excellent ball player, and he loved the game.  I remember driving in the car with him and my Aunt Cora.  My grandmother, Uncle Phil's sister, had just passed away and we were on the way back to a family house in Queens, to welcome family and friends after the service.  Despite growing up in the area and having visited the house on numerous occasions, Uncle Phil still tended to get lost.  And, despite my living in New Jersey, I somehow knew the way and so I sat in the backseat acting as co-pilot.  We were close to the house when Uncle Phil drove down a neighborhood street and saw kids playing stick ball.  Even in 1994 kids were still playing stick ball in Queens.  My Uncle, without hesitating, stopped the car, got out, and started playing stick ball with those kids.   Here are these kids, on a random Tuesday afternoon, playing stick ball on a Queens street when a car stops and Phil Rizzuto gets out to play with them for five minutes.  Those kids are probably still telling the same story to their friends and family today.

But I suppose that's the kind of man he was. He loved the game and he loved life. It seems that everyone he touched has a personal connection or story to tell. When he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, he organized a bus to take his family and close friends up to Cooperstown.  On the way up, I remember asking a man sitting across from me on the bus how he knew Phil Rizzuto.  He replied, "I've been Phil's mailman for 15 years."  Yep, that about sums it up.


-- Donna McSorley / @donnamcsorley


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THE BOSS, PR & SECOND ACTS

This post was sent to me by a family friend. Read the original publishing HERE. She wrote it after the Boss passed away. I decided today to repost it. I found it touching and personal, from one of the biggest Yankee fans out there. It's a great way to honor the Boss on his birthday, July 4th.

Thanks Donna... Happy Birthday George. -Casey

“The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.” -- Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

“One’s a born liar; the other’s convicted” --Yankees manager Billy Martin referring to Future Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson,and team owner George Steinbrenner, respectively.

I was born in 1975 and raised a Yankees fan, so George Steinbrenner made it an interesting time to grow up. I was a little young to remember the late-70s championship teams, but I have some vague memories of the 1981 World Series loss to the Dodgers. For some reason, though, they center around Goose Gossage beaming Ron Cey and a beyond awkward post-victory performance on “Solid Gold” (Of course I’ve also blocked out most of the 2001 and 2003 World Series’ too, so maybe age wasn’t the issue).

For most of my formative years then, I was raised with one core unbending truth: George Steinbrenner was a horrible person, single handedly destroying the New York Yankees. The evidence was there for all to see.

• The botched trades and signings.
• The off-the-field controversies.
• The seemingly trivial issues that ballooned into major stories.
• The overbearing behavior.
  
• The managerial turnover.
  
• The suspensions.
  
• Thirteen years of controversy with not one playoff appearance.

And then things changed. The Yanks made the playoffs in 1995 and went on to win the World Series in 1996. There was an early playoff loss to Cleveland (an otherwise lovely city) in 1997, then three straight championships and a run of five World Series appearances in six seasons. The distractions were still there, but didn’t seem to matter nearly as much so long as the wins kept coming. Steinbrenner’s public image changed along with the team’s fortunes, though. He went from being reviled to receiving standing ovations from fans appreciative of his never-ending desire to win – and willingness to pay up to do so.

Over the past few years, fans had seen Steinbrenner take less of a public role as the head of the Yankees before finally handing over official control to sons Hal and Hank. And then the news came: After 37 years as the principal owner of the New York Yankees, George Steinbrenner had passed away at 80 years of age.

As a PR professional, I cringe when I think about the public persona that Steinbrenner allowed the media to portray early on: the fiery, win-at-all-costs team owner that cared little for the feelings and well-being of anyone that didn’t get on board with his program. Looking back though, maybe this was intentional on George’s part, creating the image he thought fans wanted to see attached to the most successful franchise in Major League Baseball.

Because after he was gone, the stories started to come:

“George paid for my surgery.”

“He paid for my son’s college tuition.”

“He taught me how his own mistakes had shown him the value of a second chance.”

And then, my own Steinbrenner story: I was in an elevator at Yankees Stadium in August of 1994 – the last game before the strike would end the season, robbing the Yankees of their best shot at a World Series in over a decade. I turned to see “The Boss” and his entourage in the elevator with us. My now husband said, in a low voice, “Raise your hand if you’re famous.”

The man I had grown up to view as a fire-breathing tyrant – during what was probably among the more stressful nights of his career – didn’t say a word, but gamely raised his hand.

I’m stricken again by the art of image management. This was a man that was for years known as a cold, demanding team owner. There was no question that George himself had encouraged this view. There have been incidents along the way that are still difficult to excuse for their boorishness. At the same time, though, it appears that there have been countless acts of philanthropy with an impact that really matters – far more so than the results of a baseball game.

If he had chosen, it now seems that we all could have had a different picture of George Steinbrenner and his core values over the years. Whether it was driven by his view of what the business required, or mere modesty, he kept that view hidden until he was gone.

Rest in Peace, Boss.

-- Donna McSorley / @donnamcsorley

Thank you for bringing my attention to your piece and thanks for letting my publish it here at Bleeding Yankee Blue.

Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

WHY I MISS GEORGE STEINBRENNER

Remember those days after a big loss in the playoffs? Yankee fans would be pissed off, talk radio would be buzzing and slamming the Yankees for having a $200 million payroll, yet we couldn’t win it all. We Yankee fans would all wonder at that point... What would George do next? Then George would find a microphone and say those 4 words that almost made us feel good again… “There will be changes.”

No disrespect to Hal and Hank, but it’s a different time in Yankeeland these days, is it not? I laugh because it’s clear that Hal and Hank has split George’s traits down the middle and they never seem to be on the same page... at least publicly.

Hal is clearly the guy who knows the money, works closely with Brian Cashman and is not trigger happy. Instead, he’s thoughtful with his decision making, he clearly trusts Cashman, something I never really thought George did and Hal works well with others, but he has George’s business mind, I kind of like it.

Hank on the other hand is the part of George that knee-jerked his way into bad free agent signings and lunacy. Nothing against Uncle Hank, but some of the things he says are silly, although, it reminds me a lot like his father, who spoke his mind and did what he said he was going to do...always.

In this new Era of the "World of Wait", the Yankees will now sit on a pile of money for the next big free agent market to open up and do their best George impersonation, but not now... No.

Now is the time to just go through the motions and cross our fingers as Yankee fans. And sure, if Uncle Hank is allowed out of his cage on occasion to distract us all, Cashman will bank on it, because he’ll hope we don’t notice that it’s taking way to long to “form” a championship.

One thing I miss about George Steinbrenner was his toughness. He never cared what anyone thought of him, he just did it, because he believed in his team and he trusted his decisions. Some of those decisions were ridiculous, but he did it anyway, because in the end, he just wanted to win. George had a great run, and I’m wondering if 2009 was the beginning of a good run for the Steinbrenner kids. Sure they have the Bosses traits, but will they utilize them wisely? Let’s not forget, 2009 was won by a Steinbrenner shopping spree. Damn… I’m dying to see it again, because it’s clear, George is screaming “you’re fired” at Cash right now… no doubt about it, but the difference this time is, Cash doesn't hear him.

By the way, we have a terrific piece about George called THE BOSS, PR & SECOND ACTS. You need to check it out. It was written by a guest writer and friend of mine, Donna McSorley. Thanks again for that.

Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

THE BOSS, PR & SECOND ACTS

This post was sent to me by a family friend. Read the original publishing HERE. She wrote it after the Boss passed away last year. I found it touching and personal, from one of the biggest Yankee fans out there. I thought it would a good way to honor the Boss on his birthday, July 4th.

Thanks Donna... Happy Birthday George. -Casey

“The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.” -- Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

“One’s a born liar; the other’s convicted” --Yankees manager Billy Martin referring to Future Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson,and team owner George Steinbrenner, respectively.

I was born in 1975 and raised a Yankees fan, so George Steinbrenner made it an interesting time to grow up. I was a little young to remember the late-70s championship teams, but I have some vague memories of the 1981 World Series loss to the Dodgers. For some reason, though, they center around Goose Gossage beaming Ron Cey and a beyond awkward post-victory performance on “Solid Gold” (Of course I’ve also blocked out most of the 2001 and 2003 World Series’ too, so maybe age wasn’t the issue).

For most of my formative years then, I was raised with one core unbending truth: George Steinbrenner was a horrible person, single handedly destroying the New York Yankees. The evidence was there for all to see.

• The botched trades and signings.
• The off-the-field controversies.
• The seemingly trivial issues that ballooned into major stories.
• The overbearing behavior.
  
• The managerial turnover.
  
• The suspensions.
  
• Thirteen years of controversy with not one playoff appearance.

And then things changed. The Yanks made the playoffs in 1995 and went on to win the World Series in 1996. There was an early playoff loss to Cleveland (an otherwise lovely city) in 1997, then three straight championships and a run of five World Series appearances in six seasons. The distractions were still there, but didn’t seem to matter nearly as much so long as the wins kept coming. Steinbrenner’s public image changed along with the team’s fortunes, though. He went from being reviled to receiving standing ovations from fans appreciative of his never-ending desire to win – and willingness to pay up to do so.

Over the past few years, fans had seen Steinbrenner take less of a public role as the head of the Yankees before finally handing over official control to sons Hal and Hank. And then the news came: After 37 years as the principal owner of the New York Yankees, George Steinbrenner had passed away at 80 years of age.

As a PR professional, I cringe when I think about the public persona that Steinbrenner allowed the media to portray early on: the fiery, win-at-all-costs team owner that cared little for the feelings and well-being of anyone that didn’t get on board with his program. Looking back though, maybe this was intentional on George’s part, creating the image he thought fans wanted to see attached to the most successful franchise in Major League Baseball.

Because after he was gone, the stories started to come:

“George paid for my surgery.”

“He paid for my son’s college tuition.”

“He taught me how his own mistakes had shown him the value of a second chance.”

And then, my own Steinbrenner story: I was in an elevator at Yankees Stadium in August of 1994 – the last game before the strike would end the season, robbing the Yankees of their best shot at a World Series in over a decade. I turned to see “The Boss” and his entourage in the elevator with us. My now husband said, in a low voice, “Raise your hand if you’re famous.”

The man I had grown up to view as a fire-breathing tyrant – during what was probably among the more stressful nights of his career – didn’t say a word, but gamely raised his hand.

I’m stricken again by the art of image management. This was a man that was for years known as a cold, demanding team owner. There was no question that George himself had encouraged this view. There have been incidents along the way that are still difficult to excuse for their boorishness. At the same time, though, it appears that there have been countless acts of philanthropy with an impact that really matters – far more so than the results of a baseball game.

If he had chosen, it now seems that we all could have had a different picture of George Steinbrenner and his core values over the years. Whether it was driven by his view of what the business required, or mere modesty, he kept that view hidden until he was gone.

Rest in Peace, Boss.

-- Donna McSorley / @donnamcsorley

Thank you for bringing my attention to your piece and thanks for letting my publish it here at Bleeding Yankee Blue.

Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.